A fishing swivel is a device consisting of rotatable parts (i.e., rings with stems) connected to a pivoting joint. The device is usually made of metal, and the pivoting joint is usually ball- or barrel-shaped. The line from a rod and reel is tied to one ring, and a length of fishing line, often terminated by a hook, lure or sinker, is tied to another ring, usually the opposite ring. Snap swivels have a safety-pin like clip linked to one or more of the rings. Three-way swivels provide a point of connection for an additional lure or length of line, and are essential for certain line and hook setups. Swivels come in sizes ranging from a few millimeters to several centimeters, and are traditionally composed of metal, and may be flat black or brass in color. The main purpose of the swivel is to allow the line to untwist during line retrieval, preventing undesirable tangling.
While conventional swivels have proven effective in reducing twisting and tangling, they suffer a major drawback. The visible presence of the swivel has been said to compromise the effectiveness of transparent lines used by anglers. While a wide range of sophisticated transparent fishing lines have emerged, swivels have remained substantially static and opaque in design. The great variety of prior proposed swivel improvements have not successfully replaced the conventional metal opaque swivel construction. As a result, a critical aspect of hooking a fish, i.e., attracting with a natural or artificial bait and deceiving the fish into swallowing an associated fishing hook, remains a challenge. Swivel visibility remains to the advantage of the fish. Swivel visibility compromises the effectiveness of transparent lines. Accordingly, it is desirable that a swivel exhibit the requisite mechanical properties to provide a strong pivoting coupling, but also exhibit the desirable characteristic of transparency so that the near invisibility of modern fishing line is not compromised.
What is needed is a fishing swivel that is difficult to detect in water. The invention is directed to overcoming one or more of the problems and solving one or more of the needs as set forth above.